The loonie’s decline since last year has led federal regulators to dial up the index guiding how much money Canada’s big two railways get to keep from hauling Prairie grain. The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) announced Friday it will raise its volume-related composite price index (VRCPI) by 4.8 per cent, to 1.3275, for the 2016-17 […] Read more
Cost index for railways’ grain revenue cap gets boost
Pressure on oat prices sends farmers scouting other crops
CNS Canada — Lukewarm prices for oats, coupled with dry conditions in Alberta and soggy conditions in Manitoba, are crimping acreage this year. Generally known as one of the hardier crops around, oats haven’t been setting any record highs on price charts, resulting in a forecast of 11 per cent less acreage in Canada. “The […] Read more
CN books lower first-quarter grain handle
Higher revenue per carload offset reduced grain and fertilizer traffic for Canadian National Railway (CN) in its first fiscal quarter. Montreal-based CN on Monday reported overall net income of $792 million on total revenues of $2.964 billion for the quarter ending March 31, up from $704 million on $3.098 billion in the year-earlier Q1. The […] Read more
Ottawa moves to extend expanded rail interswitching
Prairie crop growers hoping that changes in federal rail freight rules will continue past their expiration date are about to get their wish. Transport Minister Marc Garneau and Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay on Friday announced they would bring forward a resolution in Parliament to extend provisions of the previous government’s Bill C-30, the Fair Rail […] Read more
CP pulls more grain for less in first quarter
Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) hauled more carloads of Canadian grain in its first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period last year — but for less revenue per car. Calgary-based CP on Wednesday reported overall net income of $540 million on revenues of $1.591 billion for its quarter ending March 31, up from $320 […] Read more
Farmers big on pulses, but canola down on the year
CNS Canada — Canadian farmers will be seeding record acres of peas and lentils this spring, as expected, but the increases to pulse crops are coming at the expense of canola — which saw acres come in below expectations in a report out from Statistics Canada. In its first acreage survey of the year, released […] Read more
Canada’s farmers seen seeding less canola than expected
Reuters — Canadian farmers intend to seed less canola than expected, and will sow record-large areas with pulse crops, according to the government’s first farmer survey of crop sowings for 2016, released on Thursday. Wheat seedings are also expected to decline, but not as much as traders and analysts expected on average. Statistics Canada estimated that […] Read more
Mars Food tells customers to go easy on the pasta sauce
London | Reuters –– Mars Food plans to tell customers to eat some of its Dolmio pasta sauces and macaroni cheese only once a week to maintain a balanced diet because of the products’ high levels of salt, sugar or fat. The scheme is part of a larger initiative by the privately owned U.S. food […] Read more
Post-CWB review flags grain trade ‘inefficiency’
WITHDRAWN, April 15, 2016: A historian’s review of the Prairie grain trade, commissioned by supporters of the former single marketing desk for wheat and barley, suggests history is repeating itself at grain growers’ expense — but the data on which the review is based is now being questioned. The Canadian Wheat Board Alliance on Wednesday released a […] Read more
CP scraps plans to buy Norfolk Southern
Reuters — Canadian Pacific Railway said on Monday it had scrapped efforts to buy Norfolk Southern, almost six months after it launched its unsolicited US$28 billion bid for the fourth-largest U.S. railroad operator. The announcement comes days after the U.S. Justice Department urged the Surface Transportation Board to reject a voting trust arrangement CP had […] Read more
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